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Thursday, October 09, 2008

An Energy-Filled, but Laptop-Free, Class

After seeing the film Wall-E with my five year old daughter about a month ago, and watching that scene in the film where human beings of the future are blocked from meaningful contact with each other, and their surroundings, by video screens that constantly hover in front of their faces, I decided it was time to see if my law school class would be more engaged in the class without computer screens constantly in front of their faces.

So I held one class discussion where laptops were not permitted. The level of engagement, energy, and enthusiasm were incredible! With the students' permission, I've posted the above video of our dynamic class discussion. As you'll see, not a single laptop. I'll have some additional (perhaps a little more serious) comments to add about laptops and other technology in the classroom in an upcoming post.